London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

Every week, Lucy will give you top money saving tips on getting the best deals. From the High Street shops to the taxman, we’ll show you how to track down value.

Hail a travel bargain

Black cabs have never been associated with a bargain, but for people travelling in a group, taxis and minicabs may work out cheaper than taking the Tube. Four people hailing a cab from Euston to Angel would expect to pay £5.50, with no major traffic issues, according to Transport for London data, while four Oyster tickets for the same journey would cost £8.40. The figures come from Kabbee, a minicab comparison site, and (perhaps unsurprisingly) show minicabs can be cheaper still, costing on average a third less. Savings can also add up on longer journeys. Booking a black cab for 6pm on a midweek evening from Paddington to Heathrow Terminal 1, for example, would cost £52 while £23.50 is the cheapest price available on the Kabbee app, and the cheapest ticket on the Heathrow Express is £20, so group travellers would pay less on the road.

Glaze over spec trouble

If your glasses are so scratched that putting them on actually restricts your vision, or you have an out-of-date prescription, you don’t necessarily have to buy a new pair. Having them reglazed is a way to get new lenses without needing new frames. Opticians will do so, but many charge a fee to patients who aren’t buying new specs, so check out the prices at websites such as reglazemyglasses.com. Its cheapest lenses are £19 and it claims its prices are around 60% lower than High Street opticians. You send your glasses off via a freepost pack, and are then contacted by telephone to discuss the options and prices for the glasses, before they are reglazed and sent back.

Bueno offer from Kinder

Sweet deal for chocoholics... or pet lovers. It’s a little effort but buy a Kinder Bueno in any store in the country, then visit the chocolate maker’s Facebook page (tinyurl.com/freebueno) to fill in its claim form, and send it off to a freepost address which will send you the money you spent back. Alternatively, cat and dog owners can order a free plush cat or dog toy made by Kong by signing up to the Play Street shop (uk.playstrdata.com/signup) and setting up a free account. Cats receive a wrestling toy, dogs are given a teddy-bear-like animal that promises to be tougher than it looks.